Authors and Publishers, I am happy to receive ARCs and published children's, middle grade, and YA books for review. When I finish it, I will review it. If you need the review posted in a certain time period, please let me know and I will move it to the top of the stack. Please note: my reviews are honest, but they are my opinion. If you don't want that, please don't ask. Email Me for reviews.
Today I bring you 2 authors. Sean McHugh and Katie McHugh Parker are the co-authors of Broomsticks. They were gracious enough to stop by today and tell you the back story of the book and a little about themselves. Check back next week for my review of Broomsticks. Thanks to Diversion Press for allowing me the opportunity to host these authors and review their books.
Sean McHugh was born and raised in Maysville, Kentucky. He graduated cum laude from Morehead State University with a BA in Art. He lived in Lexington, Kentucky for ten years where he was the head writer and cartoonist for the Rock-A-Billy Cafe's Kid's Club Newsletter. In 2000, he moved to Florida and has since been working as a caricature artist at Walt Disney World. You can find him online at ashmont67@aol.com
Katie McHugh Parker was also born and raised in Maysville, Kentucky and graduated from Morehead State University with a BA in Elementary Education and a Masters in Elementary Guidance Counseling. She has been teaching at St. Patrick's School since 1997. She resides in Maysville with her husband Ricky and daughter Sophia. You can find her online at katherine.parker@hotmail.com
Broomsticks was originally conceived as a comic strip that I created in the mid-90s. Since childhood, I knew I wanted to be a cartoonist. I was obsessed with Peanuts by the great Charles M. Schulz and I equally loved the classic TV series, Bewitched. So, I took some inspiration from two of my favorite things, mixed with personal experiences and friendships and POOF!!! Broomsticks was born!
I submitted the comic strip to all the major newspaper syndicates but it was never published. I did, however, receive a lot of positive feedback from some of the editors. Two, in particular, said they liked it but thought it would work better as a children's book.
I had written several children's stories by that time. Along with my Charles Schulz dream, I also dreamed of being L. Frank Baum. I even took a children's writing class taught by Marcia Thorton Jones and Debbie Dadey, the authors of The Bailey School kids series.
Still, I had never tackled a chapter book before. I had worked with a co-writer before on a project and really enjoyed it. But Stamp & Pocky, the lead characters, were my babies. I couldn't just trust anyone with my babies! There was only one person I knew who had a great gift for writing, shared my love for fantasy and comedy, and who I could trust with my babies!
My niece, Katie McHugh Parker, always had a talent for writing and a love for children's literature. She was very excited when I asked her to co-author Broomsticks. Everything was falling into place. Unfortunately, I had just moved to Florida the same year that we wrote the first book. So, we had a long-distance partnership. There were a lot of phone calls and letter writing between us.
It worked out even better than I imagined. Katie and I work very well together. I would usually come up with the plot and storyline. I'd then break them up into chapters. Katie would work on half the chapters and I'd work on the other half. Then we would send each other our chapters to review. I write my chapters in script form. Katie then suggests changes and adds her beautiful narratives to my chapters. She then sends me her chapters and I add my suggestions to hers. It worked beautifully. If we do edit each other, it usually consists of Katie telling me that a nine-year-old wouldn't say that, or me telling Katie that Stamp wouldn't say that. I admit, I'm rather parentally protective over the two main characters and Katie respects that. The personalities of Stamp & Pocky were established early on in the comic strip, but there were no supporting characters in the strip. So, Katie co-created all of the characters in the supporting cast. Once our story is finished, Katie types it, and I do the artwork. It works like...magic!
About the Book: Fifo s been bitten by the travel bug! Digging up diamonds in Arkansas, looking for fossils in Kansas, enjoying a delicious bowl of gumbo in Louisiana, and even seeing a Broadway show in New York. America is an exiting place! In Fifo s second book, told in rhyme, Fifo dreams about visiting all 50 states. A colorful reference-like book, Fifo discovers the wonders each state has to offer. He learns along the way each state s capital, shape, flag, motto, and much, much more. The possibilities are endless! So, come along with Fifo and you ll soon discover the beauty of America one state to another.
My Thoughts: What a great way to share facts about the 50 states! Fifo the Bear takes children on an alphabetical field trip through each state in the United States. Each state is described, through poetry, with references to state flowers, mottos, capitals, etc. In the border of the page is the name of the state as well as the motto. The illustrations give even more information about each state. They show the shape of the state, the state flag, and other pictures that are indicative of that particular state.
I can definitely see this book being used in the classroom. Young children want to learn about the states, but there aren't many books out there that are kid-friendly. Hayley Rose has solved that problem along with her illustrator, Jessie Orlet. Kids will love this book because of the rhyme and vivid pictures. There is also a pattern to each page that young children can pick up on: "It's a wonderful place to visit, I'd like to go there, wouldn't you?" Even if they were unable to read all of the other words, they would catch on to the last lines quickly and be able to read along.
There are so many facts loaded in the pages of the books, that it is a goldmine for the child traveler! He or she, along with Fifo, will learn many things about the state they live in along with all the other states in the US. Kudos to Hayley Rose and her book; it's a winner!
When I was a classroom teacher, I used Stuart Murphy's MathStart books to teach math concepts to my children. Well, Mr. Murphy is back with a new series to help children learn skills important for school and life, called the I See I Learn series. Thanks to Charlesbridge Publishing, I was fortunate to receive two of the books in the series, for review.
About the Book: Sometimes Percy gets upset. He scowls and stamps his feet. But when he learns to take a deep breath, count to ten, and talk about his feelings, he can calm down. When Percy's not upset, he can have fun again!
My Thoughts: This is a great book to use with young children and teach who deal with frustration, being grouchy, being cranky and/or being angry. It is all about emotional skills and what a child can do to deal with those appropriately and ultimately become happy again. Children can relate to Percy because he feels as they would when they're upset. Through the story, Percy teaches children how to stop being upset. The colors are vivid in the illustrations, the pictures eye catching, and the print large enough for a read - aloud to children or for older children to read themselves.
I can see this book being used in classrooms and/or counselor's offices with children 2-7. It is recommended for 2-5, but I think older children, maybe up to 2nd grade would enjoy it if used as a read - aloud to spark discussion. One of the things I love about Stuart Murphy's books is the discussion questions that he adds at the end. You won't have to come up with questions on your own, because they are provided for you.
About the Book: Camille loves to build sand forts at the beach. But it's hard to build a big fort alone. Camille and her friends make a plan. They find that they can get more done--and have more fun--when they work together.
My Thoughts: Where Percy dealt with emotional skills in children, Camille's Team deals with social skills. It teaches children how to work together. There's even a plan that children can follow: make a plan, work together, and share the fun. In Stuart Murphy fashion, the pictures are vivid and eye catching, exactly what children like to see.
Again, there are discussion questions that lend themselves to opening up a classroom discussion or even a discussion with your young son or daughter. This is a great series to help young children learn important life skills!
Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page. You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog. Well, the mailbox has gone on tour. This month's host is I'm Booking It.
I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week. I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes. If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!
I had a rather large mailbox this week and I'm not sure why because I haven't been requesting as many books lately due to lack of time to read. Many of these were unrequested, just sent from the publisher, and I'm thankful. I also have some packages at the post office that I hope will be delivered today. Work has been so busy lately that I can't seem to get out of there in time to get to the post office before it closes. Hopefully the mailman will be nice and deliver my packages so that I can put them in next week's mailbox. This week is Spring Break, so I'm hoping to get a lot of reading in. You may not see me online very much, but know I'm around...I'm just catching up on some reading.
Show Time by Sue Stauffacher, from Random House Children's Books
White Cat and Red Glove (ARC) by Holly Black, from Margaret K. McElderry - both of these came packaged together, from the publisher. I read and enjoyed White Cat, so I'm anxious to see what's in store in Red Glove.
Go, Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman, from Random House Children's Books
Baby's First Book, The Poky Little Puppy, Baby Farm Animals (not pictured), and Home for a Bunny (not pictured) by Little Golden Books, from Random House Children's Books - these four titles are in Random House's new padded board book format for babies, the all-new Golden Baby line. I gave 2 of these to my nephew for his birthday and he is enjoying them.
So Shelly by Ty Roth, from Delacorte Books for Young Readers - I have been waiting on this one, so I'm excited to get to read it now.
Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page. You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog. Well, the mailbox has gone on tour. This month's host is I'm Booking It.
I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week. I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes. If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!
Here's what came into my house, via the mailbox, this week:
Last but not least, I received Arranged by Catherine McKenzie, from Cindy's Love of Books. This is a signed copy that I won on Cindy's blog. I loved finding the surprise bookmarks tucked inside the book along with a sweet note from Cindy. The Anne Geddes bookmark is my favorite! Thanks, Cindy; I love my blogging friends!
Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page. You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog. Well, the mailbox has gone on tour. This month's host is Library of Clean Reads.
I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week. I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes. If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!
Thanks to my mail lady not wanting to drive to my gate and drop some packages, I have 2 or 3 waiting for me at the post office. Therefore, I'm posting this late on Sunday because I will probably be updating it on Monday afternoon or posting an addendum to this mailbox.
The small square package on the bottom right has 3 little books in it that are excerpts of the three I received from Algonquin. It's a great marketing tool!
A graduate of the Christian Writer’s Guild’s Apprentice Course, Lisa Lickel was a top ten finisher in the first Operation: First Novel contest. She has written and produced for radio theater and performed live. Her works have been released in national syndication on FreeQuincy.podcast. She freelances for local newspapers and writes short stories, book reviews, devotionals and magazine articles which have appeared in Writer’s Digest, You Can Write for Children, and Harpstring. She holds a bachelors of science in history and RECES.
Lickel’s novels include The Gold Standard, Healing Grace, and Meander Scar.
She enjoys membership in local book clubs and writing groups, as well as American Christian Fiction Writers, and Wisconsin Regional Writers where she is editor-in-chief of Creative Wisconsin Magazine. She lives in a hundred and fifty-year old house and is active in local historical societies. Married to a high school biology teacher, she enjoys travel, books and collecting dragons. Visit her on the web at http://lisalickel.com/.
Both of my parents taught English at one point; my mother was also a librarian and their house is filled with books. When I was young, we visited my grandparents frequently: a two-hour drive north or a five-hour drive west. My favorite memory of those visits is the book shelf. The Pokey Little Puppy was a staple at Grandma Dhein's. The story was a treat I read at their city house. Another influential book in my life was an early Whitman Publishing book called The Star Fairies. Ethereal, fantastic, frightening, I realized later the wonder of capturing allegory.
My parents enrolled my brother and me in a children's book club. The delight of receiving three books a month, like Dr. Suess stories, and A Visit to the Zoo, and so many others is the fondest of memories. They taught me about creating rhythm and word pictures. We were also given free range when choosing from the Scholastic catalog in elementary school. The Witch of Blackbird Pond fueled my love of history and attention to detail.
When I was older, I reached for the western sagas of Zane Grey on my grandfather Duvel's shelf. He never went to high school, but kept a stock of novels and books and crossword puzzles in their farmhouse to satisfy his love of learning. My favorite, Under The Tonto Rim, is a book I kept and read often. It's a tangible family tie I hope my children will appreciate.
I began to read book reviews when I reached high school. Those reviews influenced my reading and buying choices. I discovered Anne McCaffrey, and my love of dragons, inspired first by the frontpiece of Thomas Costain's books, took shape as I started a dragon collection. Robert Heinlein, CS Lewis, and Mark Twain showed me how to create worlds, remember life, and portray characters.
When I read to my children, I saw the delight on their faces, which books were their favorites and why. My reaction, and theirs, taught me the passion of storytelling.
I didn't realize until adulthood that I'd been laying the foundation of an author's toolbox. When I took a writer's course and began selling my articles and stories, then delving into the world of novels, I paid tribute to the love of books I've been privileged to know since childhood.
My work now, mystery and adventure and romance, reflects those early stories.
About The Poky Little Puppy
One of the original 12 Little Golden Books, The Poky Little Puppy has sold nearly 15 million copies since 1942, making it one of the most popular children’s books of all time. Now this curious little puppy is ready to win the hearts and minds of a new generation of kids.
Love can heal even the deepest scars ... After seven years with no clue as to the whereabouts of Ann Ballard's missing husband, nearly everyone presumes him dead. Now forty-something, Ann is ready for her stagnant life to flow again. Then one day, a dark-haired younger man from her past shows up on her doorstep offering a river of hope in place of tears. Former neighbor Mark Roth has secretly loved Ann for years. A respected attorney, he's returned home to help Ann face down disapproving family members and the legal maneuvering of her likely deceased husband's family-while quietly winning her heart. When the hidden truth of Ann's situation turns their lives on end and another tragedy strikes, the two must come to terms with family, faith and the depths to which true love can run.
Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at The Printed Page. You can read all about it at the Mailbox Monday blog. Well, the mailbox has gone on tour. This month's host is Library of Clean Reads.
I love this meme because it lets me take a peek into other bloggers' mailboxes and find out what they received over the last week. I will warn you, it does lead to more books as you will find many that you want because of others mailboxes. If you'd like to join in on the fun, post about your books and link up!
I had a pretty big week this week, so there's only one picture of all the books stacked up. This week I only had to make one trip to the post office because there was a package that wouldn't fit in the mailbox. Clicking on the book titles will take you to their Goodreads page.
Review Copy Provided by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
About the Book: Big Bad Wolf’s first visit to his local library (as related in Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf) was such a success that he returns to tell his version of “The Three Little Pigs.” His outrageous spin on the tale draws skeptical remarks from his audience: “Isn’t that wolf’s nose getting longer?” asks Pinocchio. “It’s a cooked-up, half-baked tale,” snaps the Gingerbread Boy. And “Tell the truth, B.B. Wolf!” squeal the Three Little Pigs. Caught in his own lie, B.B. explains that he is a reformed villain: “Now I’m begging on my knees, Little Pigs, forgive me, please!” How B.B. turns his bad old deed into a good new one provides a happy ending to this fun-to-read fractured fairytale.
My Thoughts: As a teacher, I read many versions of The Three Little Pigs, even ones from the wolf's point of view. Well, here is a new one and the wolf is at it again.
I really enjoyed Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf. It was a fun story with bold illustrations. I have not read Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, but that didn't make a difference. You don't need to have read it first to be able to understand this story. In the story, B.B. Wolf tries to tell his side of the story, but he keeps getting interrupted by other storybook characters. I loved how the author tied all of these stories together using the characters. It is a great way to introduce young kids to many storybook characters that they might not know. Many of these characters, like the little pigs, the gingerbread man, Pinocchio, etc. have been replaced by Dora and Spongebob. Today's children may not know who these characters are, but books like this one will allow them to meet them, get to know them, and hopefully grow to love them, like we did as kids.
There are some lessons to be learned from B.B. Wolf as well. He wants the pigs to forgive him, so he asks the other storybook characters to help him come up with a new name. What else could B.B. stand for? I could see this as a great activity for kids, after finishing the book. They could write their ideas for B.B.'s new name and why they think he should have that name. B.B. also apologizes to the pigs, so apologies could be discussed as well. I think there is a lot to be learned from this book even though many will just see it as a fun read.
Tell the Truth B.B Wolf was a great read. It was laugh out loud funny and I would read it over and over again to children.
Dorien Grey started out as a pen-name, nothing more, for a lifelong book and magazine editor who wanted to write a mystery novel with a gay detective. However, because he was living in a remote and time-warped area of the upper mid-west where gays still feel it necessary to keep a very low profile, he did not feel comfortable using his own name--a sad commentary on our society, he admits.
But as the first book led to the second and then the third, he found Dorien slowly became much more than a pseudonym, evolving into an alter ego. "It's reached the point," he says, "where all I have to do is sit down at the computer and let Dorien tell the story."
As for the Dorien's "real person," he's had a not uninteresting life. Two years into college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program: he washed out and spent the rest of his brief military career on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. The journal he kept of his time in the military, in the form of letters home, honed his writing skills and provided him with a wealth of experiences to draw from in his future writing.
Returning to college after service, he graduated with a B.A. in English, and embarked on a series of jobs which worked him into the editing field. While working for a Los Angeles publishing house, he was instrumental in establishing a division exclusively for the publication of gay paperbacks and magazines, of which he became editor. He moved on to edit a leading L.A. based international gay men's magazine.
Tiring of earthquakes, brush fires, mudslides, and riots, he returned to the midwest, where Dorien emerged, full-blown, like Venus from the sea.
He . . . and Dorien . . . of course, moved to Chicago a few years ago, and now devote "their" energies to writing. After having completed thirteen books in the popular Dick Hardesty Mystery series--the fourteenth to come later this year, and a western/romance/adventure novel, Calico--"they" have embarked on a new mystery series with a new protagonist: the Elliott Smith Mysteries, which will alternate with the Dick Hardesty Series; three books in this series have been released: His Name is John, Aaron's Wait, and Caesar's Fall.
I am eternally grateful to my mother for giving me a fascination with and love for words. It was she, by reading me stories even before I was able to understand many of the words--though I loved the sounds--, who opened the doors of wonder contained in those words.
From the time I learned to read, the library was a very special place. I got some sort of award while in first grade for having signed out more books than anyone in my class. Most of them were pretty elementary stuff, but among the first "real" books I remember were the Oz series, by Frank L. Baum. The most famous of which, of course, is "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", from which the classic movie was made. I saw it when it was released in 1938 and though I was not yet five years old, it enthralled me then, and it enthralls me now.
Once I discovered that there was an entire series of Oz books--fifteen in all--I'm quite sure I read most of them if not all. I can still close my eyes and see them...outsized, as I recall, with thick cardboard covers with wonderful illustrations. To open them was to open the door to the imagination and all the wonders therein.
The fifteen books, should you be curious, were The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl Of Oz, Little Wizard Stories of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Scarecrow Of Oz, Rinkitink In Oz, The Lost Princess Of Oz, The Tin Woodman Of Oz, The Magic of Oz, and Glinda Of Oz.
The books' concept that there was a special place, somewhere "over the rainbow" with enchanted creatures and wondrous fields and forests and cities where anything was possible, acted like a magnet for my own imagination, and taught me that if I was not happy with the world in which I lived, I was free to create my own.
One of my favorite characters in the Oz series was a little boy named "Button-Bright," about my own age, who appears in several of the books. He got his name from his parents, who thought he was "bright as a button." I'm sure I strongly identified with him. As I recall, he was constantly getting lost, then being found, then getting lost again. Eventually, he moved to Oz permanently. I take particular delight, on looking back, to realize that he was a friend of Dorothy's, because a long-time code between gay men was to ask "Oh, are you a friend of Dorothy?" I certainly was, and am.
The Oz books contain all the ingredients required to nourish and enrich any child's imagination, as it did mine. They teach the child that the mind--the imagination--is not tied to the body; that it can go anywhere, do anything; that it can provide a refuge, a haven, when the real world is harsh and cruel. It teaches that there are other places, other worlds. Every book is an arrow, a path, a guide to where the imagination can take us.
In an inscription to his sister in one of his books, Baum wrote: "I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp, which when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward."
I'd take that one step further and point out that an adult with an imagination is still a child, and it is to the adult child that I have dedicated my own books. And so I embarked on a life-long journey to create my own arrows, my own paths, my own guides for others. It's been a wonderful journey, and I hope that when it is over I, like Button-Bright, often lost and often found, may move permanently to Oz.
My thanks to Shelly for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you here.
About The Wizard of Oz
The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection, All 15 Books, including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, and MORE plus Active Table Of Contents and Original Cover Illustrations.
We all know that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum, but did you know he published many more and all were beautifully illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, and has since been reprinted countless times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the 1902 stage play and the extremely popular, highly acclaimed 1939 film version. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy in the Land of Oz. Thanks in part to the 1939 MGM movie, it is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the popular 1902 Broadway musical Baum adapted from his story, led to Baum writing thirteen more Oz books.
Here now you can read every one of his other stories which few know exist but indeed they do and together with the delightful illustrations and active table of contents this is surely a joy to read. Rare stories that indeed make up a whole world of Oz, are now all here at your fingertips.
Elliott Smith wakes up in the hospital with a head injury...and an invisible companion. At first, he's convinced "John" is just a figment of a damaged brain, but when he's fully recovered John is still around; and desperate to find out who he is. Reluctantly, Elliott agrees to help, and discovers Chicago PD has a John Doe on their hands with six bullets in him?who died in the ER at the same time Elliott was there.
As Elliott digs deeper into the mystery of John, he stumbles on a body hidden behind a wall for 80 years, meets a sexy artist who could become more than just a one-night stand, and uncovers a deadly secret that has haunted a nun for two decades.
